Friday, July 31, 2009

Consumer Sovereignty: Russia Edition

MOSCOW — Aeroflot’s symbol is still the winged hammer and sickle, but otherwise, the former communist carrier has mostly shrugged off its Soviet past. The strongest evidence yet: by the end of the year, it will fly a fleet nearly entirely made in the U.S.A. and Western Europe.

That Aeroflot will fly almost exclusively Boeing and Airbus jets is a remarkable turn for a company that once owned virtually every civilian airplane in the Soviet Union. But the airline has tried to reinvent itself as a business carrier, and its passengers tend to prefer Western airplanes.

Can you believe Boeing unions went on strike at the most critical time in the company's history putting the Dreamliner even more behind schedule? The world fleet of aircraft is declining by about 100 aircraft a month. If it weren't for an Airbus and Tupolev crash, Boeing would be in serious jeopardy.

That and Bay Area Rapid Transit are the prime examples of why we used to call out the National Guard and the Pinkertons to shoot these people. Like all cartels, unions ought to be illegal. Who believes that people with six digit salaries deserve or need unions?

That and Bay Area Rapid Transit are the prime examples of why we used to call out the National Guard and the Pinkertons to shoot these people.

Well, be comforted by the wonderful lawyers who take their place. If you don't have a union problem, they can always help you click and ship work to your Most Favored Nation. Those silly patriots won't know what hit them and they couldn't do a thing if they knew. Either way, you can bloodlessly turn the screws in these difficult times.

Funny, but I'm not in a union, get great pay and benefits, and don't lose a night's sleep worrying about losing my job to someone from another country who will work for less. Nor do I worry that my job won't see me to the other side of a recession.

Education tends to solve that problem. I cry no tears for those who don't have it. They get to make my coffee, mow my lawn, fix my car, and press my shirts. If they demand more money for that, I'll find someone who does it for less or do it all myself. I'm not above menial labor for my own benefit. Sometimes it's fun.